Warehouse Management System (WMS)
The team at MIBAR.net. knows that effective warehouse management (WMS) is fast becoming a must have solution for distributors and manufacturers to cost effectively compete. WMS helps bridge the gap between the processing of business transactions and the ultimate receipt of merchandise by your customers. It can extend from your picking process, right through to your customer EDI transactions including packing, shipping and logistics MIBAR.net offers a variety of fully integrated warehouse management solutions for both of our business management software product lines; Microsoft Dynamics GP, and Accountmate/SQL. And with our experience in implementing best of breed WMS solutions, MIBAR.net can help streamline the operational control of one of a distributors most critical activities.
What is a Warehouse Management System
The evolution of warehouse management systems (WMS) is very similar to that of many other software solutions. Initially a system to control movement and storage of materials within a warehouse, the role of WMS is expanding to including light manufacturing, transportation management, order management, and complete accounting systems. Even though WMS continues to gain added functionality, the initial core functionality of a WMS has not really changed. The primary purpose of a WMS is to control the movement and storage of materials within an operation and process the associated transactions. Directed picking, directed replenishment, and directed put-a-way are the key to WMS. The detailed setup and processing within a WMS can vary significantly from one software vendor to another, however the basic logic will use a combination of item, location, quantity, unit of measure, and order information to determine where to stock, where to pick, and in what sequence to perform these operations.
At a minimum, a WMS system should:
- Have a flexible location system.
- Utilize user-defined parameters to direct warehouse tasks and use live documents to execute these tasks.
- Have some built-in level of integration with data collection devices.
Beyond labor efficiencies, key factors in deciding to implement a WMS tend to be more often associated with the need to better service your customers which your current business system may not support. WMS can improve techniques such as first-in-first-out, cross-docking, automated pick replenishment, wave picking, lot tracking, yard management, automated data collection, automated material handling equipment, integrated EDI ASN documents and much more.
- WMS will reduce inventory carrying costs
- WMS will reduce labor costs
- WMS will increase stock visibility
- WMS will increase customer service
- WMS will increase inventory accuracy